What can I do to improve the performance of my Content Manager for iSeries object backup process?

Technote (FAQ)

Question

I have millions of images/files located in my i5/OS IFS "Root" directory and my backup takes many hours. Is there anything I can do to speed up this backup process?

Answer

A new parameter has been added to the SAV command that improves IFS SAV performance at V6.1 and higher, once certain enabling PTFs are applied. This parameter, ASYNCBRING, will specify whether objects should be asynchronously brought into memory during the save processing. More information can be found about ASYNCBRING at the related URLs listed in the section below.

One V7.1 customer reports positive results regarding the ASYNCBRING feature with respect to his Content Manager for iSeries and OnDemand for IBM i IFS backup process. He has noticed a 57% reduction in the time required to save his IFS objects. He has provided the statistics below. Of course, your results will vary based on many things, such as system hardware, CPU utilization, size and number of IFS objects, speed and number of tape drives, etc., but this may be a feature worth investigating for your environment.

3/18/2012

3/25/2012

4/8/2012

Effects of implementing ASYNCBRING

and upgrading to POWER 7

9406-550

9406-550

8202-E4C

Power 5

Power 5

Power 7

i 7.1

i 7.1

i 7.1

BRMS

BRMS

BRMS

Tape drives

3592-E05 (2)

3592-E05 (2)

3592-E05 (2)

ASYNCBRING

ASYNCBRING

IFS (Excluding CM & CM/OD)

Number of objects

484,152

707,637

423,847

Elapsed time (hh:mm)

:43

:40

:21

CM/OD

Number of objects

483,097

494,772

524,994

Elapsed time (hh:mm)

:56

:23

:12

CM (Sub-directories 1-39)

Number of objects

1,959,532

1,959,532

1,959,532

Elapsed time (hh:mm)

4:44

2:09

1:57

CM (Sub-directories 40-100)

Number of objects

2,765,810

2,782,302

2,814,575

Elapsed time (hh:mm)

6:51

2:28

2:21

Total IFS objects

5,692,591

5,944,243

5,722,948

Total IFS save time

13:14

5:40

4:51

Reduction in IFS save time

57%

14%

IFS save rate (obj/hr)

430,171

1,048,984

1,179,960

Increase in IFS save rate

144%

12%

Overall backup time (incl IPL)

9:06

6:25

4:24

Reduction in overall backup time

29%

31%

To reiterate, please execute your own testing and research on this new feature, as your results may vary.